Alexander Zverev takes Andalucia Open wild card after early Miami loss

World no. 7 and a former Miami Open finalist Alexander Zverev suffered an early loss in Florida last week to Emil Ruusuvuori in three sets.

Returning to Europe, the German asked for a wild card at the next week's ATP 250 inaugural Andalucia Open in Marbella, starting his clay season earlier than he expected. The Club de Tennis Puente Romano signed a one-year deal with the ATP, and will host notable players like Fabio Fognini (also asked for a wild card), Andrey Rublev, Pablo Carreno Busta and Casper Ruud.

Andrey Rublev is through to the semi-final in Miami and will likely withdraw from Marbella, leaving Zverev as the only top-10 player and the favorite if he brings his A-game. The German will become world no. 6 next week despite an early Miami loss, passing Roger Federer and trying to add 250 points to his tally next Sunday.

Alexander has won nine matches this season, one at the ATP Cup and four at the Australian Open before Novak Djokovic halted him in four tight sets. The German suffered an early Rotterdam loss before bouncing back in Acapulco, securing the 14th ATP crown and extending the streak with at least one ATP title to six consecutive seasons.